Korea is extremely sensitive domestically! This time, a new proposal has emerged during the China-North Korea summit, which may also cause concern in Japan! On June 10, according to reports from *Hankook Ilbo* and Yonhap News Agency, Korean media stated that since March 2018, China and North Korea have held seven meetings. Notably, this time military cooperation was mentioned for the first time. Korean media emphasized that discussions on military cooperation had never before appeared in public agenda, and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun attended the meeting alongside.
A South Korean Unification Ministry official said: "Based on our information, this is the first time in Kim Jong-un's era that military cooperation between China and North Korea has been publicly addressed. South Korea will closely monitor any developments." South Korean experts suggest that amid the ongoing strategic competition between the U.S. and China over issues such as Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, China might be redefining North Korea’s strategic value, thus seeking to advance military ties with North Korea to disperse American military strength in the region. Future activities could include high-level military exchanges and troop-level interactions between the two countries. However, specific details about such military cooperation remain unknown to the outside world.
Evidently, South Korea is highly alert to this new development by China and North Korea. In fact, this emerging narrative has also drawn significant attention within Japan. Japanese observers note the remarkably consistent positions of China and North Korea in firmly opposing militaristic actions. Naturally, Japan is concerned about strengthened military collaboration between China and North Korea, potentially aimed at countering Japan—especially given that current relations between China and Japan, as well as between North Korea and Japan, are particularly strained.
From a practical geopolitical perspective, the United States has never abandoned its intention to provoke tensions around China’s periphery, while Japan is eager to expand its military capabilities. It is entirely plausible that China and North Korea would cooperate to address common challenges. South Korea’s heightened vigilance stems from concerns that this could worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula. However, in reality, the peninsula would remain stable as long as South Korea does not align with the U.S. in containing North Korea. Conversely, Japan is more likely to take reckless actions, making it possible that China and North Korea have already begun preparing accordingly.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867607822878026/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.